“George Gagnidze and Zeljko Lucic will share the title role of Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Met this fall, replacing Simon Keenlyside, who is taking a necessary period of vocal rest for much of the year and temporarily removing the role of Rigoletto from his repertoire. Gagnidze will sing the first seven performances of the opera, while Lucic—already scheduled to sing the December performances of the run—will also sing Rigoletto on November 13, 16, and 19.” So says the Met’s press office. Read more »

“…Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton were in the audience, with their daughter, Chelsea, and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky. They were there, opera insiders said, because Chelsea Clinton is a friend of the tenor Vittorio Grigolo, who was playing the Chevalier, Manon’s true love.” [New York Times]

“The Met’s revival of Verdi’s Ernani Friday night was every inch a tragic opera, though without being grand in any way. Its grisliest calamity was not the one the composer devised but rather one the production’s star, Plácido Domingo, brought on himself.”